No Sacrifice, No Victory
by BubblyYork
Summary: A disastrous anniversary leads Ava Torres to reevaluate just what shewants out of life. She never thought that the night would bring anything good to her life especially after dumping her boyfriend of six years. However, the arrival of new neighbour changes things in ways that Ava never truly expected. Steve/OC. Reposting.
1. Worst Anniversary Ever

**Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America, or anything affiliated with Marvel.**

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**Chapter One: Worst Anniversary Ever.**

Peeking down at her watch for what felt like the thousandth time, the woman had been sat in the restaurant for the better part of two hours waiting for her boyfriend to arrive; she hated the looks that she was getting from those around her. It was late and the only reason she remained was to see if he even remembered that today was there anniversary; she had been planning this night for months and yet apparently, she was the only one that gave a crap.

Her best friend had helped her pick out a stunning outfit insisting that tonight would be the night that her boyfriend would pop the question since he had insisted on them going to a fancy restaurant. Leaning back in her seat, the woman tapped her foot wondering if Jackson were even going to turn up; the restaurant would be closing soon and she still had to make her way home.

She cursed her luck for taking a taxi instead of bringing her car, she had thought that her boyfriend would have been taking her home but he clearly had better things to do. The sound of the door opening and someone hurrying towards her table made the woman turn around and she narrowed her eyes at the sight of her boyfriend. One look at him told her everything that she needed to know, and she could not believe that he had done this to her; he had grease smeared over his shirt and his hands were caked in some sort of oil.

"I can't believe you," she spat shaking her head and getting to her feet, she had gotten all dressed up for this and he couldn't even make a little bit of an effort for her; it was always like this and she was the only one that tried to make this work. She did not wait to hear what he had to say, instead she focused on how she was going to get home; she was tired of being the last thing on his mind all the time. Jackson cursed as he hurried after her, he had not meant to forget about their date; he had been so focused on working on his car that it had just sort of slipped his mind for a few hours.

"Ava… wait," Jackson pleaded following her as she stormed out of the restaurant, he followed her feeling horrible that he had kept her waiting again; his brother had warned him that he might not get another chance this time. He was far too interested in restoring his car and this was not the first time in the past couple of years that he had completely forgotten that they had something planned; hell, he would have just called her but his brother had convinced him others. Rolling her eyes at the sound of his voice, Ava did not stop walking as she headed away from the restaurant and started her journey home; she was not interested in arguing with him in the street.

"Babe I'm sorry," Jackson begged attempting to get Ava to listen to him, he had screwed up but he just wanted the chance to make this right; he was sure that they would still be able to enjoy their date. Ava snorted and shook her head, she had heard this so many times before and she was not going to fall for it now; she just wanted to get home and out of the cold, cuddle up in her bed and watch whatever film she could find on Netflix.

She had not brought a coat with her and this was not exactly how she had planned on their anniversary dinner ending; she shook her head and held back the tears where threatening to build. Ava knew her own busy schedule did not help, she was in her final year of university, having put it off for a while after school because her father had been sick; she was enjoying her last term and she was not sure what she wanted to do next.

Continuing to walk down the street, Ava was not sure how their relationship could come back from this; she was tired of being the only one that seemed to try when it came to them. Jackson gritted his teeth as he grabbed onto her arm to stop her from walking away from him; he just wanted her to get over this then they could grab a pizza or something while he continued to work on his car for a few more hours.

"I said I'm sorry what more do you want?" Jackson asked bored of this already, his brother had dropped him off and he was sure that David was having a laugh at this right now from where he was watching in his car. He had truly screwed up and David had always been telling him that Ava would one day realise that she could do better; she was smart and was going places with her degree while Jackson would amount to nothing.

Ava stared at him for a moment before she shook her head, she was not going to let this go this time and she did not know what he expected her to do when he continued to make a joke out of their relationship. It was getting to hard for her to deal with now and Ava could only imagine what things were going to be like when she finished university; she had a promising internship lined up and she was excited for it even if Jackson were not excited for her.

"You have to be joking," Ava replied trying to pull away from him, she just wanted to get home now and she was getting tired of the constant feeling that she was not important to him. She tried to pull away from Jackson who was holding on tightly to her arm, it was late and the last thing that she wanted to do was fight in the middle of the street right now.

Jackson had been a part of her life for many years now and they had been friends before they had even started dating; but now Ava felt like she was out growing her boyfriend who seemed to think he was still in high school. They were both nearly thirty and all Jackson did was work on that stupid car while he lived in his brother's basement; he did not even use his mechanic skills to earn money.

"Do you even know what tonight was about?" Ava asked him, she raised an eyebrow at him wanting nothing more than to get home and change into her pyjamas. It had been a long day and she had spent over an hour getting ready for dinner, something that had clearly been a waste of time when her own boyfriend had not cared about it. Jackson furrowed his brow, he did not think that tonight had been anything special especially since Ava had exams coming up; he thought they had just been meeting for dinner or something.

"Date night," Jackson guessed with a shrug of his shoulders, he wished that she would stop being such a pain in the ass and forgive him already; they could grab pizza and he could listen to her complain about her classes or some crap. He regretted the words as soon as he had spoken them, the look that appeared on Ava's face told him that he had been completely wrong, and he did not know what else to say.

"It is our anniversary… and our last it seems," Ava told him softly done with all of this, she could not believe that he had forgotten and that it meant so little to him. They had met when Ava had been struggling the most, he had become her personal and the one that she could talk to when her father had been seriously ill and her mother had walked out because she could not cope anymore.

Jackson opened and closed his mouth, he had not known that was today when he was sure that it was next week; he stared at Ava not sure how he was going to make it up to her this time. He watched as she shook her head before turning on her heel to try and leave again, he felt like such a jerk and he knew that he had gone too far this time for her to just forgive and forget. Ava tried to walk away only for Jackson to hold onto her, and she did not know what he hoped that he would change by holding onto her like this; she struggled against his hold which was starting to hurt her arm.

"Let me go," Ava snapped trying to pull away from Jackson, he was starting to leave a mark and she doubted that a fight would help things now; she glared at him wondering if he really wanted to do this again. Ava tried to pull her arm from his grasp and free herself, she glared at him wondering why he was doing this; she was tired and clearly his actions were not going to change her mind anytime wanted her to forgive him and he was not going to let her walk away when they had come so far; he had a feeling that if she walked away now, then they were finished.

"Hey. The lady asked you to release her," shouted a voice making Jackson stumble back as someone grabbed onto his arm forcing him to release Ava; he fell to the floor as the man shoved him back away from her. He blinked a little surprised at the action before he stared up at the man that dared interrupt him while they were sorting this out; he did not understand why anyone would interrupt them when he was talking.

"Are you all right?" the man asked turning his attention to Ava, he had been traveling back to his makeshift apartment when he had seen the scuffle that was occurring between the woman and the man before him. He had not been able to just ignore them especially considering the grip the man had had on her and she had almost looked frightened when she realised that the man would not let her go as she had asked him to do. Nodding her head, Ava had not been expecting anyone to interrupt them and she had thought that people would continue to ignore her fight with Jackson; she peeked down at her arm to see the mark that he had left.

"Thank you," Ava said nodding towards the man, she did not know what else to say to him, but it was cold out and she had no intentions of lingering longer than needed. She looked towards Jackson and saw that he was getting back to his feet, it did not take much for Ava to guess what was going on inside his head right now and she had to put a stop to that. The last thing Jackson needed was to be arrested for assault, the police would not be kind to him this time and she was not in the mood to bail him out of prison again; she wondered if he even realised that walking away was an option.

"Just go home Jackson," Ava cautioned turning away from him and prepared for the walk home doubting that he could say anything that would make her change her mind. The man watched her leave before looking towards Jackson trying to see if he was going to cause any more trouble; he did not know what had happened, but he shook his head wondering what had made him grab her like that.

He moved to follow the woman wanting to make sure that she got home okay, it was rather cold out and she did not have a jacket or anything with her. Jackson glared after the man, he could not believe that had just happened and he knew that there was truly little that he could say that would make this right anytime soon.

"Miss, do you need money for a taxi?" the man asked hurrying after her, he could not imagine that she lived close and from the looks of it she did not have any transport to get her home. It did not feel right to allow her to head off on her own especially after what he had just witness; he did not have much faith in the man that she had been arguing with would leave her alone even after being told to go home.

Ava shook her head politely, she only lived a couple of blocks from here and it would be a waste of money; she was sure the walk would help her sort out her thoughts about what she needed to do next. The two walked silently down the street and Ava became even more sure about the course of action that she needed to take; she could not carry on like this and Jackson was not going to change. The last six years had been great at times but recently things had been going downhill and Ava could not be the only one that had noticed that; they were on different paths and wanted different things in life.

"I'm Steve," the man said introducing himself to break the silence, he offered her a smile not sure what to say; he still felt so new to this and everything felt different after coming out of the ice. A part of him wondered if this were a normal thing, he had never seen so much disrespect in his life and wondered just what had happened to make people act like this; he would have never dreamt of treating anyone the way that man had tried to treat her. Ava peeked at him a little surprised that he was willing to linger, she was grateful he had stepped in when he had but she was good now and she hoped that Jackson would take some time to think about things.

"Ava… thank you for interrupting when you did," she replied offering Steve a small smile, she did not want to really think how bad a fight with Jackson could have gotten if he had not stepped in. The evening had been ruined and knowing that her boyfriend had a temper, she could see how that could have ended badly for her; it was late so it was lucky for her that Steve had been passing by when he had been.

It did not take long before they reached the building where Ava lived, she stared up at it for a moment and she was sure that her best friend would be waiting to hear all about the night that she had had. Ava was certain that Callie would have so good advice for her, even if her friend had never really liked Jackson constantly pointing out how the man was holding Ava back in life.

"This is me. Thanks again," Ava said turning to look at Steve, she doubted that she would see the guy again and she was just grateful that he hadn't carried on his way when he'd come across them. Hesitating for a moment, Ava stared at Steve not sure what else to say to him and she offered him an awkward wave before heading into her apartment block. The door closing behind her and Steve smiled to himself, he had no idea what he was going to do now that he was stuck seventy years in the future; everything he knew had changed and he was going to have to get used to that.

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	2. The New Neighbour

**Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America, or anything affiliated with Marvel.**

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**Chapter Two: The New Neighbour****.**

"Morning Kate," Ava greeted stepping out of her apartment, she balanced the box that she was carrying on her hip checking that she had her keys; the last thing she needed was to get locked out now. It had been a few days since her relationship had ended and Ava was rather relieved that Jackson had not come knocking; she did not want to deal with him after what had happened.

She had spent the weekend packing up all the crap that Jackson had left at her apartment over the years and now Ava was going to take it downstairs and leave it with the door attendant. The less chance that she had to deal with Jackson the better and Ava was sure that he would come by at some point wanting his stuff back now that they were not together.

"Morning… someone has been busy," Kate noted eyeing the box that Ava had in her arm, she had heard about the break-up and she had to admit that she was not surprised. Jackson seemed to be going nowhere in life while Ava was rather focused on her studies; they were quite different people who wanted different things.

Plus, his lack of interest in his girlfriend was startling, he always seemed rather interested in whatever he was doing instead of wanting to spend time with Ava; they always seemed to do what he wanted them to do. Ava nodded her head and eyed the box that she had packed, it was not much but she would feel better when the stuff was completely out of her life.

"Just some stuff that I don't need," Ava replied shifting her hold on the box, it was a little heavy and the sooner that she got downstairs the better; she had so studying that she wanted to do today. Kate nodded her head and moved to head into her own apartment, she had just come home from work herself and she wanted to relax a little before dinner. The two had been neighbours for a while now and had formed a bond when they saw one another; they always said hello and stopped for a bit of a chat when they could.

"Heads up… apparently, we have a new neighbour," Kate called over her shoulder, she had seen the boxes downstairs and it had not been much but the apartment at the end of the hallway had clearly been filled. The place had been empty for a while and the two had wondered how long it would be before the land-lord would fill it; there were three apartments on their floor and it had been odd just having the one empty.

Especially considering how nice their neighbourhood was and the price of their rent was not bad, the apartment was decent sized but it seemed like the landlord could not give the place away. Ava groaned heading for the stairs, they lived on the fourth floor and she was sure that if someone were moving in that they would be taking up the space in the elevator.

Heading for the stairs wanting to drop the box off before the door attendant swapped over for the evening shift and she had to answer any questions; it did not help that everyone was practically telling her that they had known it would come to this. The trip down the stairs was a quick one and Ava pushed the door to the lobby open and sighed in relief; she was just going to be relieved when this was done.

"Hi," greeted a voice making her jump a little, Ava had not been expecting anyone to greet her since most people on the other floors of the building stayed to themselves. The only person that she really spoke to that lived in the building was Kate and that was only in passing; she tended to keep to herself or hang out more with her room-mate since they both went to college together.

Ava was studying business while Callie was studying to be a teacher and currently had a placement at a local school; she wanted to work with elementary kids since she thought they were cute. Ava was a little surprised to find that it was Steve that was greeting her, she had not expected to see him again after he had helped her out; she had never thought that he might be the new neighbour.

"Steve… it's good to see you," Ava greeted politely, she honestly was not sure what to say to him and she shifted the hold that she had on the box as her fingers started to ache. The box was starting to get pretty heavy and she cursed herself for not sticking some stuff in a different box; Ava was only glad that there was nothing breakable in the box in case she had to drop it to the floor.

"Let me help you with that," Steve offered moving forward to take the box before she dropped it, he was pleased to see a friendly face and it certainly helped that he knew someone that had nothing to do with SHIELD. He had found himself growing tired of the place that SHIELD had given him to stay in temporarily after he had woken up from being on ice for seventy years and it had not helped him climatize to the world he now lived in. The move was his first step into rebuilding what was left of his life, he had tried to do everything himself and Steve was rather pleased with the selection that he had made.

"Thank you. I'm just giving it to the door attendant," Ava murmured signalling to the desk, it looked like Larry had disappeared, but she was sure if she left the box there then he would find it. She had warned him that she would be leaving a box there, so he would not be too worried when she did; Larry would make sure that Jackson would get his stuff back. Steve nodded his head and moved to set the box on the counter, he guessed that she had been clearing out and she was going to wait for someone to collect the stuff that she did not want.

"You live here?" Steve asked remembering that he had walked her home, but he was surprised to find that they were going to be neighbours; the place looked different at daytime and he had not thought much about it after he had left. He had not really been paying attention to directions when they had walked here, only making sure that the creep that she had been with was not following them to try and attack her again.

"Yep… Apartment 4C," Ava replied with a nod of her head, she crossed her arms glad that was done and now she just had to wait for Jackson to show up and take the box. The two of them wandered over to the lift where a couple of boxes that still needed to be moved upstairs; it was nice out and the sun was shining through the glass doors to the lobby.

"I just moved into apartment 4B," Steve said with a smile, he moved to pick up another box and he was surprised that no one had really bothered him yet since he was Captain America. Ava nodded her head, she was only glad that it was not some idiot that was going to be blasting music at all hours of the night while she was trying to sleep.

"Do you need any help moving stuff?" Ava offered sure that he would get it done quicker if he had some help, they could stick the four remaining boxes in the elevator with them and move them onto the landing when they got there. It would certainly be a lot quicker for Steve and he would not have to worry about annoying anyone else on the other floors by making several more trips because the elevator would not stay on one floor while he moved his things.

"Ava," Jackson called stepping into the building, he was far from pleased to see his ex-girlfriend speaking to the guy that she had walked off with after she had ended things with him. He had been in the neighbourhood and decided it might be a good idea to come and speak with her after what had happened; she had not been taking his calls since what had happened the other night.

Ava took a deep breath before she turned around to face Jackson, she had hoped to avoid this, and she had nothing left to say to Jackson now that they were done. A part of her wish that they could have worked out but she knew that he was never going to change, she was not important to him and the fact he had waited until now to come and see her proved that. Steve eyed the man that was approaching them, he did not want to leave Ava alone with a man that clearly knew nothing about personal space or respect.

"We need to talk," Jackson announced walking towards them, he did not like seeing Ava getting close to another man and he was sure that they could make up after what had happened. He had done a lot of thinking and Jackson was sure that they could patch things up; he had been a jerk and there was a lot that he had to make up for but it was not like he was the only one at fault.

Whenever he wanted to do anything with her, she was always busy studying; she complained when he took her anywhere and looked bored when they went to do things especially if it involved cars. Ava crossed her arms and stared at Jackson, she was not going to fall for that again and she did not care how much he apologised; she was doing the right thing for her.

"I have nothing to say to you Jackson," Ava said shaking her head, she had done her best to hold them together for six years and she was done being the only person that cared about them or making plans. In a few months' time she would be graduating and Ava knew that what she did next would be important, she had her eye on a couple of internships that could really help her but Jackson had tried to talk her out of taking them.

There was not any sign that Jackson knew what he was going to do with his own life; they were both nearly thirty and she seemed to be the only one truly growing up and doing anything. Ava had decided what she wanted and she was not going to let him hold her back; she had given him chance after chance, but nothing seemed to work out for them.

"I have plenty to say…" Jackson stated stopping in front of Ava, he was not going to let her just end things because they had hit a small bump in the road. So, what if he had forgotten their anniversary and she had been sat at the restaurant for hours; he had been busy working on his car and he was finally getting somewhere with it. They had made it this far and Jackson was certain that they would make it further, he had asked a friend if he could borrow his apartment to try and make this right with Ava.

"Maybe we could go somewhere to talk," Jackson suggested wanting to get away from the man that seemed to be hovering; he did not like it and he could just see that he was trying to move in on her while she was angry at him. Ava stared at him, she had already said that she did not want to talk to him and she was not about to go anywhere with him.

"That's not going to happen," Ava told him, she was going to go back to her apartment and move on with her life; she was determined not to let anyone hold her back anymore not when she had risked so much to come her. Her mother had tried to push her down the root of becoming a doctor like her sister but it had not worked; her had been disappointed but she was doing okay without her help.

It had not helped that her father had died and she had been the one to care for him, she had cut ties after his funeral wanting to live the life that she had put on hold to care for her father. Jackson had used up all his chances and there was no way that they were going to make things work now; they had been falling apart for years and clearly what they had was not working. Watching as Ava turned away from him, Jackson's hand snapped out to grab her arm; however, Steve grabbed his arm to stop him from grabbing Ava.

"Listen the lady said she doesn't want to talk and you should respect that," Steve insisted wondering why Jackson thought that it would be okay to grab someone who clearly did not want to be around him. Ava had made it perfectly clear that she did not want to talk to him and had every right to walk away from this situation just like she had done when she had walked away from him in the street. Jackson glared at Steve wondering who he thought he was stopping him when he was just trying to make things right with Ava; he was not going to hurt her or anything.

"I have just left a box of your stuff on the desk… I think it's time you left Jackson," Ava stated not wanting to deal with this, she was done and she hoped that things wouldn't escalate from here; she could only imagine what would happen if a fight broke out. There was an awkward silence for a moment while both men sized each other up; it was Jackson who looked away first turning his attention to Ava. A frown upon his face when he realised that this was actually happening, his girlfriend was done with him and he'd wasted six years on her for nothing; her selfishness meaning that he'd lost precious time to work on his car.

"Whatever," Jackson muttered before he walked away, he had no idea why he had even bothered when she was always too busy with her school work. His brother had told him that she was out of his league and that he was going to lose her; that she would find someone who treated her right and Jackson would kick himself one day.

Storming out of the building Jackson swore that he was not going to waste his time on someone who did not understand him; she had tried to change him and he was glad that he had not allowed her to do so. Ava took a deep breath, the weight that had been on her shoulders lifted and for the first time in a long time she did not feel like she had to fight for his affection.

"Shall we?" Ava asked turning to Steve, ready to put the past behind her and focus on the future that now lay ahead of her.

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	3. Helping Hand

**Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America, or anything affiliated with Marvel.**

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**Chapter Three: Helping Hand.**

Staring at her laptop as she worked on some stuff for one of her classes, Ava could not help but revel in the silence of the apartment in the early morning; she had been awake for a while and had decided to get her classwork done while she had the chance. Her eyes skimmed what she had written so far, she did not look up from her work engrossed with what she had done so far and making sure that it was not alright to hand in to her tutor.

"Morning Callie," Ava greeted stopping her roommate from sneaking up on her, she did not turn to greet her friend who looked rather put out that yet again she had not been able to sneak up on Ava. A smile formed on Ava's face as Callie dropped into the seat next to her, an annoyed look on Callie's face while the other girl pouted at being caught again.

"Jeez. How do you do that?" Callie grumbled reaching to steal a slice of toast from the plate that Ava had left beside her coffee; this was not the first time that Ava had been able to almost sense when someone had been sneaking up on her. Callie had been caught doing the walk of shame more than once, sneaking back into the apartment only for Ava to just know she was there.

"It's a gift," Ava replied with a shrug of her shoulders, she kept her eyes focused on her work with a slight frown on her face as she moved to correct one of the sentences that she had typed. Callie stared at Ava, her eyes watching her friend's face for a moment nibbling on the nearly cold toast before she slipped down from the stool and moved to head for the bathroom to get ready for the day.

"Door," Ava called after her since Callie was closest to the door and she would rather not get up while editing her work; she did not even turn to look at Callie who seemed confused. Opening her mouth to retort that there was no one there, Callie was stopped by the sound of someone knocking on the door; she sent a puzzled look to Ava before moving to answer it.

"Hi. Is Ava here?" Steve asked staring at the rather confused looking Callie, the woman shooting a look over her shoulder towards where Ava was working before showing him into their apartment. Grumbling to herself about her weird roommate, Callie left them to it focusing instead on getting ready for the day; she shut the bathroom door behind her allowing the two some peace

"I was wondering if you could help me with something," Steve asked approaching Ava, shooting a look over his shoulder to where he knew Callie had disappeared; he felt rather relieved to see that her roommate was not hovering around. He had met Callie shortly after moving into his own apartment and things had been rather awkward since she had caught him in the laundry room of the building and she had been holding her underwear. Steve had not been quite sure where to look while Callie talked to him and seemed to almost be waving her underwear around while she chatted with him animatedly.

"Sure, what's up?" Ava asked looking up from her laptop and offering him a reassuring smile as she did so; she was nearly done with her classwork anyway and she could spare a few hours for him. He almost looked relieved at her offer and Ava listened as he explained that he needed some help putting together some furniture that had arrived without any real instructions on how to build them. There were pictures but that did not exactly help him put together his bedside tables and he had spent the last hour trying to work out just what screws went where before he even dared try and put it together.

"I'm guessing you ordered from Ikea?" Ava guessed putting down the lid down on her laptop before she slid off the chair that she had been sitting on and moved to get some shoes. It would not surprise her if he had, the store was not far from here and they delivered; plus, it was where they had gotten most of their furniture when they moved in.

Steve nodded his head, he had never seen such confusing instructions to put something together; he was almost thankful that she was willing to help since he did not have anyone else that he could turn to. Despite the fact that he was determined to put some distance between himself and SHIELD while he adjusted; Steve did not have many people that he could turn to when it came to adjusting to the world around him.

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"See that wasn't too hard," Ava teased staring at the two completed bedside tables for his room, a triumphant smile on her face as she stretched her arms above her head and eyed the cupboard that had been sitting to the side that needed doing. They had finished off the two bedside tables in plenty of time and Steve looked rather relieved that it was done; the two tables sitting off to the side while they sat in the middle of his living room.

"Thank you," Steve stated grateful for her help, he could only imagine how long it would have continued to take him if she had not come to help. Things like this should be easy for him, he did not think that they had made that much change in how to put furniture together and while it was not something that he had really done before the war but it could not have been this hard.

"It's nothing… besides, you won't have been the first person to fall into Ikea's evil trap," Ava said smiling at him, she missed the odd look that Steve offered her at her words and moved to get to her feet. Dusting off her hands, Ava started to clear away all the packaging that was scattered around; she hated the white bits that broke of the Styrofoam when unpacking.

"I'll remember that," Steve laughed getting up to help her collect up the pieces of rubbish that was scattered about the room; he was surprised how much rubbish was packed into the boxes that did not need to be. Once the rubbish was thrown out, the two of them decided to make a start on the bedroom cabinet that was left to do; the two chattered happily while they got to work.

Steve asked about her studies and smiled listening to Ava talk about her classes and the stress of finals that were just around the corner; he had never had the chance to do that when he was her age. His father had died a couple of months before he was born and his mother had done her best to make sure that he was well cared for; he had been ill a lot and she had worked two jobs to make sure they had food on the table.

"Sorry, I'm rambling," Ava apologised when she saw the look on his face, she had not meant to talk so much about her studies; she was sure he would rather hear about anything else. With graduation right around the corner, Ava was cramming as much as she could wanting to do well in her exams; she had no idea what life would hold for her post-graduation.

Steve waved away her apology, he loved that she was passionate about what she was doing and it was a refreshing change from all the talk that he had listened to since waking up after spending seventy years in the ice. From briefings to medical exams, Steve was thankful for a change of pace after everything and it was the main reason that he had left the accommodation that SHIELD had set up for him while he had adjusted to this new world. So different from the world that he had left behind when he had crashed that plane, he had never considered that he would end up seventy years in the future and would find himself so alone.

"Do you have any plans for dinner?" Ava asked interrupting his negative thoughts, a reassuring smile on her face as she stood across from him and Steve was thankful for that. While he was relieved to be away from SHEILD and have some of his independence back, he had not considered that he would feel so alone in the world; it made him all the more determined to hold into what he had with Ava. In the time that he had known her, she had been nothing but kind to him and welcoming even when things had not been going so well for her.

"I don't actually, hadn't even thought about it," Steve replied stuffing his hands into his pockets, he had yet to go shopping and he was not entirely sure how to do the take-out thing even though someone had tried to show up. There was enough take-out menus shoved into his mailbox that he had enough options but he had been entirely unsure how to approach such a thing; he was much more of a cook for himself kind of person.

"My roommate has a study group thing tonight, so I'm eating alone if you'd like to join me," Ava explained, she would not mind the company but she would understand if he said no and wanted to relax in his own apartment. Ava found that she enjoyed spending time with him, she did not know what it was but she felt at ease and for the first time in a long time she felt at ease.

"I'd like that," Steve agreed with a smile, relief filled him at the offer and he was glad that he did not have to spend all his time alone; perhaps things were starting to look up for him.

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	4. Friendly Dinner

**Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America, or anything affiliated with Marvel.**

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**Chapter Four: Friendly Dinner.**

"What do you fancy?" Ava asked moving to pull out the menus from the draw where she and Callie kept them in the kitchen, they had a little bit of everything and she did not mind what they ordered. Anything was better than digging through the freezer in search of something that she could make for dinner, the freezer was pretty empty since both she and Callie were avoiding going shopping until they really needed to do so.

"Whatever you think is best," Steve replied awkwardly, he did not want to admit that he was a little uneasy especially at the sight of all the menus that she had. Even with his adjustment period, the food in the twenty-first century was entirely different to anything that he might have enjoyed before; he had tried to stick to foods that he recognised or that were simple.

Ava frowned at that, turning her attention to Steve and she stared at him for a long moment before she nodded her head; picking out a menu, she moved to get her phone so that they could order. A plan already in her mind and she mumbled to herself, words that did not quite reach Steve's ears; he watched her, the smile on her face making him wonder what she was going to do.

"How do you feel about Fondue?" Ava asked not looking up from the menu that she was staring at, her eyes scanning the page and she seemed almost too engrossed with what she was reading to see the look on Steve's face. His eyes growing wide at her question and he took an awkward step back, his mind flashing back to his last conversation about fondue that he had had and who that had been with.

"Fondue?" Steve replied trying to not sound so freaked out, he did not think it was something that people just talked about up front; he liked Ava, hell she was the first person that who treated him like just Steve. Everyone else that he had come into contact with since waking up had seen him as Captain America first, all in awe of what he had done for his country and the sacrifice that he had made.

"They do this amazing chocolate fondue for dessert," Ava mused trying to hide the amused smile that was forming on her face, she turned to look at him innocently and held up the menu for him to see. The relieved look on his face and made her smile grow before she moved to dial the number of the menu; she leant against the counter while Steve moved to take a seat in the living area.

His eyes catching on the pictures on the wall, some where of her roommates family but his eyes focused more of those that he figured to be Ava's family; he moved closer to admire one picture that seemed to be of a wedding that Ava had attended. Carefully picking up the picture, Steve stared down at it taking in the happy couple on their wedding day; they looked so happy and he felt his stomach turn knowing he would never have that. Any thoughts that he had of such things had disappeared when he went into the ice, normal things that people did every day just did not feel right to him now.

"My sister and her husband on their wedding day. I was her maid of honour," Ava told him with a sigh, she had seen him pick up the picture and had watched him for a moment; the emotions that covered his face where enough for her to see just where his mind had gone while she ordered. Steve did not speak, his eyes lingering on the picture for a moment longer before he moved to put it back; unable to shake the feeling that seemed to threaten to consume him from the inside.

Everything that he had known was lost and people that he had called his friends were gone, anything that he had wanted just did not seem right now that he was forced to start all over again. Ava moved towards him, she did not say anything not wishing to upset him when he suddenly seemed so down; she hesitated at his side unsure what to say to him for a moment. The two of them stood silently together, neither saying a word as they took in the collection of pictures that filled the wall; moments that were happy and cherished that the people in them would not forget.

"It gets better," Ava murmured softly, her words barely reaching his ears and she offered him a weak smile before moving to start getting ready for their food to arrive; whatever had happened in Steve's past, she would not push him to speak of it. If he wished to talk then she would be all ears, she was sure that he just needed time.

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"Thank you for dinner," Steve stated holding up the leftovers that she had insisted that he talk, he had to admit that he had not been expecting the feast that she had ordered for them and felt bad that she refused to let him pay for it. Ava being quick to point out that next time he could pay, a smile had formed on his face at that; that there would be a next time and perhaps he would not be so alone in all of this afterall.

"It was my pleasure," Ava replied following him towards her door, she was almost sad to see him leave and she was glad that even for a while that she could distract him from the plagues of his past. The dark shadows that seemed to follow him even while he was awake had worried her, she had no idea what he had been through but she recognised a soldier haunted by their past when she saw one.

"I'd love to do it again sometime maybe after your exams we could go out to a restaurant," Steve suggested when they reached the door, he had enjoyed himself and at least for a little while he had been able to put everything out of his mind. The distraction had been worth it and Ava had made him feel more than welcome in her home, Steve had even enjoyed listening to her talk about the course that she was doing even if he did not understand most of it.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you were asking me on a date," Ava teased him, she tried to hide the smile that formed on her face at the flustered look that appeared on his face. Not that she would say no if he did, she found that she rather enjoyed their time together and while she was not ready to jump into another relationship; she wanted to take her time especially after the mess that had been Jackson.

Ava wished to take her time, she wanted to find her feet again and recentre herself after the time that she had wasted on someone like Jackson who had only cared for himself. Moving to open the door, Ava glanced back at Steve over her shoulder and offered him one last smile before she opened the door; a part of her sad to see the evening come to an end. Pulling her door open, Ava let out a sigh and moved to Steve could pass her and step out into the hallway; a level of awkwardness seemed to descend upon them for a moment, neither of them knowing how to say goodbye for he night.

"I guess I'll see you around," Ava stated almost wanting to curse herself for the awkwardness that had coloured her words, she did not understand how they had gone from a pleasant evening to this awkward mess. They were friends and Ava could not imagine why that was so difficult now when they had managed so well before; she stared at Steve for a moment before she gave her a little bit of a wave and shut the door.

Steve could not stop the smile that formed on his face, he could not recall a time that he had felt like this; it would have been before the war perhaps, when his mother was alive and they had only each other. He walked slowly back towards his own apartment, he was hopeful that this was a sign that perhaps all was not lost after waking up seventy years in the future with everything that he had known gone.

Sticking the key into the lock, Steve paused for a moment and offered a glance over his shoulder back towards Ava's apartment suddenly feeling that he was not quite alone. A shake of his head followed when he saw that no one was there and he moved to enter his apartment; setting his keys in the bowl by the door, he moved further into his home. The feeling of being watched did not leave him and his eyes scanned what he could see as he slowly edged further down the hallway that led to his living area; he frowned at the sight of the man in black sitting in an arm chair waiting for him.

"Are you here with a mission, sir?" Steve asked knowing that he should have expected Fury to show up at some point, he had agreed to keep working since he had nothing else now. He just had not expected such a call to come so soon, he had thought he would be allowed more time to adapt than what he had been granted. Fury placed the information packet on the coffee table without saying a word, it contained everything that Steve would need to know about the situation that was at hand.

"I am. There is a lot we will have to bring you up to speed on if you are in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know," Fury stated simply, nothing would probably prepare the Captain for what he was about to deal with.

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